THE first steps have been taken to reclaim a Warndon wilderness for the community thanks to a budding new club set up to help the area bloom.
The Woodmancote Wednesday Club met for the first time this week and has now put down roots as it continues to look for volunteers to transform the overgrown space for the better.
The hope is that residents can get more use out of the space which had not only become overgrown but had been blighted by fly-tipping.
Volunteers spread flower seeds and collected rubbish as a first step of what is hoped will become an ongoing project hosted by the Worcestershire Wildlife Trust and landowners Sanctuary Housing.
The club has been set up to care for and enhance Woodmancote, a wild area of Warndon now in the process of being reclaimed for the community after fly-tipping blight but needs volunteers to make it truly bloom.
READ MORE: Woodmancote Wednesday Club 'needs you' to make Warndon bloom
READ MORE: Discovery Day at Woodmancote green space in Warndon
Supported by the Worcestershire Wildlife Trust, the club planted spring bulbs and trees on the cleared green space at Woodmancote at its first meeting.
Cllr Jill Desayrah, who has supported the formation of the club, said of the first meeting: “This was the first session of what will be a regular slot each week and we hope more local people will come to get involved, as changes to the site become more noticeable.
"On Wednesday we were assisted by Sanctuary Housing and the WWT and the impressive and extensive knowledge of the natural world from our resident helper Michael. Next week will see bulb planting around the bee bank and further site clearance will continue, whilst it's still safe for the wildlife.”
The Warndon councillor urged others to come along to forthcoming meetings of the club and help to make a difference.
She said: "This is the ideal planned time of year for this sort of planting and will result in a beautiful spring show. It is the first step, at last, in regenerating this piece of land, which has been planned for almost a year now."
"The club will meet regularly each Wednesday, between 10am and 12pm, to continue to tend and develop the space and support the biodiversity there.
"Citizen Science surveys will continue throughout the year, as the seasons unfold."
A bat monitoring survey also took place on Thursday with equipment provided by the Worcestershire Wildlife Trust.
WWT will guide and coordinate the activities and create the initial database for collecting the data.
Future surveys, to be run at the appropriate times of the year, will include recording the diversity of flower and plant life, Insect Pollinating Watches, the Big Butterfly Count and the Big Garden Birdwatch.
Woodmancote last month played host to a pop-up cafe and was also the setting for Discovery Day in August where residents, Worcestershire Wildlife Trust, Sanctuary Housing and other interested parties gathered to discuss the future of the site and how to make the best use of the available green space.
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